I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spare tire assemblies for vehicles, in general, and more particularly to a novel spare tire assembly that is adapted to securely fasten to the frame of a vehicle.
II. Description of the Relevant Art
Spare tires are almost always provided as standard equipment with most vehicles. In most passenger vehicles, the spare tire is located in the trunk or cargo compartment. Since most of these vehicles are utilized mainly for the movement of passengers, the trunk space is often under-utilized and the positioning of a spare tire in the trunk rarely occupies needed space. However, the situation with respect to light trucks, sport-utility and recreational vehicles, is much different. Due to the nature of these vehicles, interior storage space is often highly valued and an interior positioned spare tire would result in the waste of such precious space. As a result, external spare-tire carriers are often useful attachments for such vehicles.
One type of external spare tire carrier which has been developed enables a spare tire to be mounted below or underneath the vehicle. However, this approach has proven quite problematic for a number of reasons. A tire mounted below the vehicle reduces the vehicle's road clearance. This may prevent the vehicle from entering into rough areas which require that the vehicle maintain a certain ground clearance. Also, the tire may occupy space needed for a secondary fuel tank.
A second and more popular type of spare tire carrier are those that are secured to the rear of vehicles, either by attachment to the rear body panel of the vehicle or, in the alternative, by attachment to the bumper and secured to the vehicle through a body mounted latch. Examples of these carriers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,679,717 to Hansen and 4,817,834 to Weiler. However, such spare tire-carriers often present a number of problems. Those carriers supported exclusively by the body panel of the vehicle tend to vibrate significantly when the vehicle is in motion. In fact, the combined forces exerted on the body panel as a result of the carrier weight and vibration may cause damage to the body panel. Carriers supported primarily through connection with the bumper and secured by a body mounted latch, while less vibratory while the vehicle is in motion, tend to place a significant amount of stress on the body mounted latch as a result of the inherent instability of the bumper attachment of the carrier. Further, mounting the carrier on the bumper typically requires extraordinary modification to the bumper.
Most conventional spare tire carriers are not suited to those vehicles whose rear lift door opens upwardly. In these vehicles, such as the Jeep Cherokee, attaching the spare tire carrier to the rear lift door of the vehicle would effectively prevent the lift door from opening and therefore would prohibit access to the rear of the vehicle.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved spare tire carrier for vehicles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spare tire carrier that is more stable and less vibratory, and will not subject the rear panel or the bumper of the vehicle to undue stress.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spare tire carrier that will not inhibit the operation of the lift door.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a spare tire carrier that is easily installed by the dealer with limited vehicle modifications and limited drilling into the vehicle.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a spare tire carrier in which nearly all of the weight and stress is borne by the frame of the vehicle.